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vigneswara_prabhu's review against another edition
4.0
Synopsis
Megacity two is afflicted by a deadly plague left over from the Germ Wars, 2T-(FRU)T colloquially referred to as the ‘Tooty Fruity!’ which turns those it infects into human flesh craving cannibalistic maniacs. As of the start of the story, over 70% of mega city two has been infected and was under the control of the roving cannibal warbands. All outside contact has been lost, no help can arrive due to the loss of the spaceport, and what remained of the city’s uninfected beleaguered citizens and defenders have cordoned themselves off, busy defending against hordes upon hordes of the infected.
An attempt by Megacity one to deliver the crucial vaccine by air, which can turn the tide against the virus was lost, due to attacks by the cannibalistic infected. So, Dredd is assigned the mission of delivering the vaccine to the Megacity two, by traveling over the thousand mile stretch of radioactive toxic stretch of land separating the two megacities, referred to as ‘The Cursed Earth’. Aiding him in this mission are two fellow Judges, a former smuggling Biker spike who knows the lay of the land, and a bunch of guard automatons protecting the vaccine stored in a cooling unit assigned to a formidable battle tank named the Land raider. The team commence their long, arduous and danger-filled journey across the cursed earth, on the way encountering all manner of people, mutants, and other abominations of the radioactive world, who call the wasteland their home. And many of their interactions are less than cordial. The book collects as a form of anthology, with mostly villains of the week, and stories of the week format, where Dredd & co. meet more and more fantastical adventures and overcome them by the skin of their teeth.
________________________
Thoughts
The story is a welcome callback to those old Golden and silver age comics, with the story/villain of the week Narrative. Set against the backdrop of the larger quest, of the team delivering the vaccine for the tootty-fruity virus to Mega-city two, this premise gives the writers ample opportunities to explore an anthology of short stories about the bizarre inhabitants of cursed earth.
Bar a couple of extended tales, most of the plots are wrapped up in one or two chapters, with Dredd losing and gaining companions during his arduous quest. When it is possible, the writers try and infuse some underlying themes such as the evils of slavery, dangers of playing god with science, humanity devolving into dangerous cult, civilization collapsing, corporate greed, and the recurring theme of humanity being a largely deplorable species. With only a few exceptions, such as the protagonist Dredd, exemplifying the best of us.
There is this unabashed embracing of the weird, zany and out of this world in the writing. Which makes sense when you consider this was written all the way back in 1978. Unlike today’s writers, comic book artists at the time had much more creative liberties that they could take. They didn’t bog you down in the mechanics and rules of this world. They found something interesting and went with it.
2000 AD’s Judge Dredd takes place in the distant future, where humanity, after several apocalyptic catastrophes, are inhabiting an irradiated wasteland. With few corrupted bastions of civilizations in the form of the Megacities, ruled by the iron fists of the Judges. Majority of the planet is uninhabitable, and the corruption and radiation in these places have altered humans in gruesome ways.
Radiation, pollution and dark science is the triumvirate used by the writers as their wish-bag, to make up any and all bizarre monstrosities and justify it with either of the three. Be is dinosaurs once again roaming earth thanks to overzealous researchers exploiting genetic engineering (a whole decade before ‘Jurassic Park’ was published. Or humans exposed to radiation gaining psychic and mutant abilities. Or mad scientists using ‘science’ to create everything from blood sucking vampiric automatons, to anthropomorphized corporate mascot Frankenstein monsters. You never are given an explanation of why, but just have to get on with the program and enjoy the ride.
___________________________
Sweet, Furry, adorable and hard breaking Tweak:
Without question, one of the major breakout characters in the Cursed earth storyline, other than Dredd himself, is the affectionate marsupial-like alien ‘Tweak’. A caring leader of his people, tweak, is forced to hide his intelligence and let himself be captured, along with his family, so that humans don’t discover their underground civilization and bring war and destruction upon them, coveting their precious resources.
Treated as a dumb livestock, taken to earth as a slave, experimented on, and bearing the loss of his wife and children, Tweak nonetheless is a noble creature, recognizing a kindred spirit in Dredd, assisting him in his mission across the cursed earth, and by the end becoming one of few existences who could be considered as a friend to the stoic Judge.
In one of his final words in the series, Tweak heavy hearted and tired tells Dredd ‘I want to go home’, a few words which pull at your heartstrings. And reminiscent to the last words of Starro, the villain the latest 2021 suicide squad movie. Fortunately, unlike Starro, Tweak is able to return to his home planet, thanks to assistance from the honorable Judge Dredd. His losses and trials might be everlasting, but at least the noble leader of his people is given a chance to heal and gain peace and freedom.
________________________
His name is Judge Joseph Dredd:
Speaking of Dredd himself, much like Karl Urban’s brilliant portrayal in the 2012 cult classic, Dredd is able to express much emotion, despite having half his face permanently hidden due to his helmet.
Dredd is not just a gung-ho 90s action hero, who saves the day by just pumping his enemies full of lead and spitting out cool one-liners. Well, he does that, but Dredd as a character is also one with great character. Dredd is a judge who absolutely believes in the tenets of the Justice system as prescribed to the Judges. And as such is unflinching when it comes to dispense Justice to those who ask for it. Be it the citizens of Mega city one, the scattered misguided denizens of the cursed earth, a wronged alien forced to slavery and injustice, or non-human freakish Frankenstein constructs who were brought to live owing to the whims of a madman. Dredd offers help to anyone who asks him of it.
In this sense, his helmet, which he doesn’t take off, doesn’t symbolize the blind uncaring justice that cannot be bothered by the plight of the suffering. Rather, it is the indifferent yet just avatar of Justice and vengeance, which treats everyone the same, punishes the wicked while protecting the weak.
Despite his stoicism and adherence to rules, Dredd is also a character who is capable of immense compassion and empathy. He is able to connect and sympathize with the plight of wronged humans and even the alien tweak, offering his sincere apologies for his treatment at the hands of humanity. He cannot stand evil and injustice, and is unflinching when it comes to standing up against it.
With the amount of terrible deeds which humanity is shown to perform, not only in this story, but in the series in general, one might think that the writers have a very nihilistic view of people. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Despite its capacity for great evil, and despite being a species in decline, humanity in 2000 A.D are represented not by the legion of inferiors, but by Dredd, who is sole beacon of justice and righteousness in this f***ed up world.
Against overwhelming odds, opposition and very human nature itself, Judge Dredd stands alone as a bulwark or a higher ideal which we are meant to emulate. Which is shown up until the climax of the story, when Dredd, alone, tired, thirsty, unprotected and injured walks the final stretch, Death crawling across the cursed earth, carrying the valuable cargo of life saving vaccines, and still keeping his mission on the forefront. Nothing but steel will, and his belief in the office of his Judgeship allow him to walk the threshold of Megacity two, to his destination, and having completed his mission, fall unconscious.
Even on recovery, after waking up, the first thing he does is ensure the safety of his companion Tweak, to ensure he is well, and to arrange for the noble alien to be taken back to his home planet, as gratitude for their fellowship. Judge, through his morals and actions, shows those around him, and us as readers how to be better human beings, and an ideal to be emulated.
__________________________________
Final Thoughts
If despite all this you still are having doubts as to whether or not to take up ‘Cursed earth’, I urge you to do it, if only to experience the psychedelic, eye popping art work, which is like a crescendo of colors and emotions.
This is not the subdued, stylized, minimalist art style of the current comic landscape. It belonged to a time, when artists and illustrators held nothing back, and threw everything at the metaphorical wall. The sheer amount of things drafted on every cover page of every story is just mind boggling. They seemed to have a quota of one color spread every issue, and damn it if they didn’t make it worth the wait.
In conclusion, if you want to read a balls to the walls, post apocalyptic adventure, do not missed the collected works on ‘Judge Dredd: the Cursed Earth’
Megacity two is afflicted by a deadly plague left over from the Germ Wars, 2T-(FRU)T colloquially referred to as the ‘Tooty Fruity!’ which turns those it infects into human flesh craving cannibalistic maniacs. As of the start of the story, over 70% of mega city two has been infected and was under the control of the roving cannibal warbands. All outside contact has been lost, no help can arrive due to the loss of the spaceport, and what remained of the city’s uninfected beleaguered citizens and defenders have cordoned themselves off, busy defending against hordes upon hordes of the infected.
An attempt by Megacity one to deliver the crucial vaccine by air, which can turn the tide against the virus was lost, due to attacks by the cannibalistic infected. So, Dredd is assigned the mission of delivering the vaccine to the Megacity two, by traveling over the thousand mile stretch of radioactive toxic stretch of land separating the two megacities, referred to as ‘The Cursed Earth’. Aiding him in this mission are two fellow Judges, a former smuggling Biker spike who knows the lay of the land, and a bunch of guard automatons protecting the vaccine stored in a cooling unit assigned to a formidable battle tank named the Land raider. The team commence their long, arduous and danger-filled journey across the cursed earth, on the way encountering all manner of people, mutants, and other abominations of the radioactive world, who call the wasteland their home. And many of their interactions are less than cordial. The book collects as a form of anthology, with mostly villains of the week, and stories of the week format, where Dredd & co. meet more and more fantastical adventures and overcome them by the skin of their teeth.
________________________
Thoughts
The story is a welcome callback to those old Golden and silver age comics, with the story/villain of the week Narrative. Set against the backdrop of the larger quest, of the team delivering the vaccine for the tootty-fruity virus to Mega-city two, this premise gives the writers ample opportunities to explore an anthology of short stories about the bizarre inhabitants of cursed earth.
Bar a couple of extended tales, most of the plots are wrapped up in one or two chapters, with Dredd losing and gaining companions during his arduous quest. When it is possible, the writers try and infuse some underlying themes such as the evils of slavery, dangers of playing god with science, humanity devolving into dangerous cult, civilization collapsing, corporate greed, and the recurring theme of humanity being a largely deplorable species. With only a few exceptions, such as the protagonist Dredd, exemplifying the best of us.
There is this unabashed embracing of the weird, zany and out of this world in the writing. Which makes sense when you consider this was written all the way back in 1978. Unlike today’s writers, comic book artists at the time had much more creative liberties that they could take. They didn’t bog you down in the mechanics and rules of this world. They found something interesting and went with it.
2000 AD’s Judge Dredd takes place in the distant future, where humanity, after several apocalyptic catastrophes, are inhabiting an irradiated wasteland. With few corrupted bastions of civilizations in the form of the Megacities, ruled by the iron fists of the Judges. Majority of the planet is uninhabitable, and the corruption and radiation in these places have altered humans in gruesome ways.
Radiation, pollution and dark science is the triumvirate used by the writers as their wish-bag, to make up any and all bizarre monstrosities and justify it with either of the three. Be is dinosaurs once again roaming earth thanks to overzealous researchers exploiting genetic engineering (a whole decade before ‘Jurassic Park’ was published. Or humans exposed to radiation gaining psychic and mutant abilities. Or mad scientists using ‘science’ to create everything from blood sucking vampiric automatons, to anthropomorphized corporate mascot Frankenstein monsters. You never are given an explanation of why, but just have to get on with the program and enjoy the ride.
___________________________
Sweet, Furry, adorable and hard breaking Tweak:
Without question, one of the major breakout characters in the Cursed earth storyline, other than Dredd himself, is the affectionate marsupial-like alien ‘Tweak’. A caring leader of his people, tweak, is forced to hide his intelligence and let himself be captured, along with his family, so that humans don’t discover their underground civilization and bring war and destruction upon them, coveting their precious resources.
Treated as a dumb livestock, taken to earth as a slave, experimented on, and bearing the loss of his wife and children, Tweak nonetheless is a noble creature, recognizing a kindred spirit in Dredd, assisting him in his mission across the cursed earth, and by the end becoming one of few existences who could be considered as a friend to the stoic Judge.
In one of his final words in the series, Tweak heavy hearted and tired tells Dredd ‘I want to go home’, a few words which pull at your heartstrings. And reminiscent to the last words of Starro, the villain the latest 2021 suicide squad movie. Fortunately, unlike Starro, Tweak is able to return to his home planet, thanks to assistance from the honorable Judge Dredd. His losses and trials might be everlasting, but at least the noble leader of his people is given a chance to heal and gain peace and freedom.
________________________
His name is Judge Joseph Dredd:
Speaking of Dredd himself, much like Karl Urban’s brilliant portrayal in the 2012 cult classic, Dredd is able to express much emotion, despite having half his face permanently hidden due to his helmet.
Dredd is not just a gung-ho 90s action hero, who saves the day by just pumping his enemies full of lead and spitting out cool one-liners. Well, he does that, but Dredd as a character is also one with great character. Dredd is a judge who absolutely believes in the tenets of the Justice system as prescribed to the Judges. And as such is unflinching when it comes to dispense Justice to those who ask for it. Be it the citizens of Mega city one, the scattered misguided denizens of the cursed earth, a wronged alien forced to slavery and injustice, or non-human freakish Frankenstein constructs who were brought to live owing to the whims of a madman. Dredd offers help to anyone who asks him of it.
In this sense, his helmet, which he doesn’t take off, doesn’t symbolize the blind uncaring justice that cannot be bothered by the plight of the suffering. Rather, it is the indifferent yet just avatar of Justice and vengeance, which treats everyone the same, punishes the wicked while protecting the weak.
Despite his stoicism and adherence to rules, Dredd is also a character who is capable of immense compassion and empathy. He is able to connect and sympathize with the plight of wronged humans and even the alien tweak, offering his sincere apologies for his treatment at the hands of humanity. He cannot stand evil and injustice, and is unflinching when it comes to standing up against it.
With the amount of terrible deeds which humanity is shown to perform, not only in this story, but in the series in general, one might think that the writers have a very nihilistic view of people. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Despite its capacity for great evil, and despite being a species in decline, humanity in 2000 A.D are represented not by the legion of inferiors, but by Dredd, who is sole beacon of justice and righteousness in this f***ed up world.
Against overwhelming odds, opposition and very human nature itself, Judge Dredd stands alone as a bulwark or a higher ideal which we are meant to emulate. Which is shown up until the climax of the story, when Dredd, alone, tired, thirsty, unprotected and injured walks the final stretch, Death crawling across the cursed earth, carrying the valuable cargo of life saving vaccines, and still keeping his mission on the forefront. Nothing but steel will, and his belief in the office of his Judgeship allow him to walk the threshold of Megacity two, to his destination, and having completed his mission, fall unconscious.
Even on recovery, after waking up, the first thing he does is ensure the safety of his companion Tweak, to ensure he is well, and to arrange for the noble alien to be taken back to his home planet, as gratitude for their fellowship. Judge, through his morals and actions, shows those around him, and us as readers how to be better human beings, and an ideal to be emulated.
__________________________________
Final Thoughts
If despite all this you still are having doubts as to whether or not to take up ‘Cursed earth’, I urge you to do it, if only to experience the psychedelic, eye popping art work, which is like a crescendo of colors and emotions.
This is not the subdued, stylized, minimalist art style of the current comic landscape. It belonged to a time, when artists and illustrators held nothing back, and threw everything at the metaphorical wall. The sheer amount of things drafted on every cover page of every story is just mind boggling. They seemed to have a quota of one color spread every issue, and damn it if they didn’t make it worth the wait.
In conclusion, if you want to read a balls to the walls, post apocalyptic adventure, do not missed the collected works on ‘Judge Dredd: the Cursed Earth’
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